Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Rating
RIYL
!!!Beck
LCD Soundsystem
The Rapture
Tracklist
1. Out at the Pictures2. Shake a Fist
3. Ready for the Floor
4. Bendable Poseable
5. We’re Looking for a Lot of Love
6. Touch Too Much
7. Made in the Dark
8. One Pure Thought
9. Hold On
10. Wrestlers
11. Don’t Dance
12. Whistle for Will
13. In the Privacy of Our Love
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You can’t accuse Hot Chip of monotony. From album to album, they have displayed an affinity towards diverse songwriting; sometimes they have even done so within the same song. Like most people I had discovered Hot Chip with their last album, The Warning. It contained several electropop gems such as “Boy from School” and “Over and Over”. These songs were catchy and captivating enough to have me go back and listen to their past catalog of works. Their debut, Coming on Strong, was intriguing due to its heavy R&B and soul influence but didn’t contain the solid songwriting prowess of the follow-up. Word spread quickly about Hot Chip due to their aforementioned singles and The Warning showed up on several best of 2006 lists which leaves their new album, Made in the Dark, placed firmly in the ‘anticipated’ category.
Whether or not Hot Chip meets or even surpasses the high expectations of their new album is a moot point. It is clear from the start that the members are most comfortable ignoring the tremendous swell of press while writing creative music for themselves. This isn’t to say that the band doesn’t want anyone to enjoy the record -- quite the contrary. But if people receive it favorably, it seems that it would be an additional perk for the band as opposed to their primary concern. The nature of this album is extremely schizophrenic and lined with humor as well as irony. The humorous atmosphere of these songs could prove to be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, it creates a carefree and pleasant tone that compliments the idiosyncratic dance music perfectly. Others, it appears to ruin an otherwise powerful tone within a song because of unnecessarily goofy lyrics and songwriting variations.
The first single from the album, “Shake a Fist”, is the perfect example of how unpredictable the songs can become. It starts off as an accessible glam rock jam that would make Marc Bolan smile proudly before it is interrupted by a somewhat awkward sample of Todd Rundgren talking about the “sounds of the studio.” The music stops abruptly before this interlude and then bursts back with a dissonant electronic breakdown that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Justice record. I normally am not a fan of this type of cut-and-paste songwriting and I can typically sympathize with those who denounce it as indolent songwriting. However, in this case, Hot Chip managed to capture my attention without irritation and it’s always hard to sit still when that break comes in.
The album opener, “Out at the Pictures”, is conversely a straightforward dance song which creates the false pretense that the album is going to be one big happy party. Anyone who has heard the band before knows that there is bound to be a few moody ballads thrown in the mix. The first one encountered is the laid back dirge of “We’re Looking for a Lot of Love”. It’s a great soulful tune but nothing as prevailing as the title track. “Made in the Dark” is a clear standout and a glowing example of how well the band can write an R&B song that would fit contentedly next to almost any classic piano ballad. As far as their overall songwriting is concerned, they have not progressed tremendously. Instead, they have found a comfy middle ground between their first and second albums.
Don’t think the album is mostly sappy ballads. Songs such as “Ready for the Floor”, “One Pure Thought”, and “Wrestlers” are among the best dance numbers heard in recent memory. “Ready for the Floor” in particular is bound to get incessant plays and is one of the catchiest songs, dance or otherwise, that has been released thus far in 2008. “Wrestlers” is an amusing track about wrestling that was apparently based off of a text message from James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. Murphy at the time was touring with Hot Chip guitarist Al Doyle and stated “"Sorry you can't have Al back, I'll wrestle you for him.” It’s hard to take it too seriously with lyrics such as “All I’ve known, I’ve learned from watching wrestling” but then again I don’t think seriousness was the aim for that one.
Unfortunately, inconsistency is one of their most obvious traits and songs like the abysmal “Bendable Poseable” hinder this album from being the true treasure that it could have been. The album ends with “Whistle for Will” and “In the Privacy of Our Love”, two slow and somber tracks. With the latter, you can tell that they feel most confident playing ballads. Hot Chip has crafted an album with fascinating diversity that regrettably stumbles a few times over some avoidable obstacles. Still, there is enough solid songwriting here to warrant more than its share of replays. Credit must be given to Hot Chip since it’s rare to hear a band that can write both dreamy R&B ballads as well as danceable electronic romps. Here’s looking forward to the day where they master the balance in songwriting and release the classic we all know they are capable of producing.
--Dave Spak
Comments
Berlin, Germany
In defense for Decoy: That's about the only genre covered, which is absolute wasteland.
Minnesota
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Berlin, Germany
Yeah Ric, I do understand you. What I meant to say was that the few acts that are covered on this site are bullshit. We need some good electro. I live in Electro-city !
Dubuque
I don't get sent any electro stuff so that won't be happening any time soon. Got too much on my plate to take on any more reviews.
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Boston, MA
I'm confused, are you complaining about the review or the lack of coverage for electronic music in general?
Stereo Typing
Tweet at me, bro